Speed and Spyte
by Crash
Summary: Complete. Quicksilver is acting odd, and Spyke and Jean aim to find out why. But in the process, they find there's more to Quicksilver than he would have anyone beleive. Even his friends. Especially his friends...
1. More Than Meets the Eye

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Author's Notes

This story was begun way back in mid 2001, as an attempt to break the writer's block I ran into while writing _Nasty Boyz_. As fans of that story can attest, it didn't work. After being shelved for many a month, I brought it back down and finished it off. More for my own piece of mind than anything else… Anyway, kudos to anyone who can guess where in the fic I took my sabbatical.

As fitting with its time of conception, this story takes place in late first season continuity, with absolutely no relation to the aforementioned _Nasty Boyz_. (But if you enjoy this, read _Nasty Boyz_ anyway.) Coincidently, I'm rather glad I started writing this particular fic, as some of my other early stories would have been gutted by second season appearances. (Ask me about my idea for Arcade Games, or for a Morlock story featuring Marrow, Wolfsbane, Beast, and Angel. **AND** Captain America! At least Fury's spot had already been split between Sharon Carter and Henry Gyrich…)

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Additional note

"...As some of my other early stories would have been gutted by second season appearances."

I wrote the above statement when this story was originally posted, slightly before mid second season, and it seems to imply that this story **isn't** gutted by second season appearances. Ah, how naive and foolish I was back then... That being said, this story takes place completely outside the confines of second seasons continuity. 

And on that note, I'm going to go out on a limb and make a little prediction for Evolution's third season. Clint Barton. Mark my words, he'll show up. One way or another. Yeah, he's kind of a long shot, but the other three core Avengers have shown up, and I always figured Apocalypse would have been the longest shot of them all... 

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****

Speed and Spyte

Monday

Inside the Bayville High library…

Evan Daniels leaned forward, gazing balefully at his opponent. "Yo momma's so fat," he uttered slowly, his voice dripping with malice, "she has to ask Blob for dieting tips."

Unfazed, Pietro Maximoff looked back at Evan through hooded eyes. "Yo momma's so ugly, even Clinton turned her down."

Evan scowled, slightly. "Yo momma's so old, when she was in school, there **was** no History class."

Pietro's expression remained unchanged. "Yo momma's so fat, her blood type is 'Ragu.'"

Evan's eyes narrowed as he prepared his response. "Yo momma's so dumb… She's stupid."

Immediately, Pietro opened his mouth to chastise Evan for his inane comment. However, he caught himself before he actually said anything. Tilting his head slightly, Pietro closed his eyes, as if acknowledging his near-defeat. After a moment, he delivered his response. "Yo momma's so short, she has to look up at Mini Me."

Evan shook his head. Both because Pietro failed to fall for his ruse, and because of his lame comeback. "Yo momma's so slow, snails tell her to speed up."

Pietro's face hardened. Daniels had crossed the line with that remark. Pietro narrowed his eyes, and spat out his response with renewed intensity. "Yo momma's so fat, it takes her two trips to haul ass!"

Evan responded with equal intensity and malice. "Yo momma's so old, her birth certificate says 'expired!'"

"Yo momma's so dumb, she stamps her e-mails!"

"Yo momma's so fat, her shadow weighs a hundred pounds!"

"Yo momma's so hairy, Xavier thought **she** was the mutant of the family!"

"Hey!" Loosing his composure, Evan slammed his fist down on the table.

Instantly, all malice vanished from Pietro's voice, being replaced by simple arrogance. "Well, well, well... Looks like you've lost, Daniels." Smirking, Pietro snatched a notepad out of his backpack. With his unique arrogant flair, he added a tally mark. "…Again. So, you up for another game, or have you suffered enough humiliation for one day?"

Disgusted by his defeat, Evan pushed himself away from the table. "I don't think so, Pietro. Class is almost over anyway."

"Suit yourself." In an instant, Pietro had leaned his chair back and propped his feet up on the table. In the process he had snatched a book from his backpack. "Besides, I kinda wanted to get some reading done today. I started a new book yesterday and I just can't wait to finish it..." Pietro propped the book in front of his face, with the cover prominently displayed for all to see.

'War and Peace,' thought Evan as he read the cover. Evan noted that Pietro was over half way through it. 'Show-off....' At that point, Pietro flipped the page. He did it just quiet enough to seem innocent, but just loud enough to be noticed by those around him. Evan scowled at his classmate.

Flip.

At that point, two girls walked over to the duo. The first girl glanced at her companion with a look of annoyance on her face. "Gee, what a surprise. Evan and Pietro, doing nothing..."

Flip.

The second girl sighed and addressed the two boys. "Well, congratulations. You've done it. You've wasted the entire week in the library. I don't suppose you've even **started** writing your half of the report?" The sarcasm in the girl's voice was evident.

"Started? Finished." Without looking up from his book, Pietro tapped his hand on a stack of papers laying on the table. "Here's our half, researched, written, and proofread. All that remains is for you to type it up. Now get to it, women!"

The girls regarded Pietro with annoyed expressions on their faces.

Flip.

"We, uh, kinda finished early," said Evan, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

At that point, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Before the bell had finished ringing, Pietro had tossed his book back in his bag, and had his backpack slung over his shoulder. "'Bout time. Well, I'd love to stay and chew the fat, but I've got places to go and people to see. Catch you on Monday." With that, Pietro zipped out the door as quickly as school rules allowed.

Evan turned to his teammates with an apologetic look on his face. "Look, I'm sorry 'bout Pietro. He's... Well... He's Pietro. If you need any help typing up the report…"

The first girl sighed as she slipped the stack of papers into her book bag. "Nah, we've got it covered. And don't worry about Petey, over there. It's not your fault he got stuck in our group…"

"Cool," said Evan, relieved that he wouldn't be spending the weekend typing up a report. "I'll see you when we turn in the report, then."

The girls mumbled a few cordial good-byes as Evan strode out of the library.

-----------------------------

In the halls of Bayville…

A short while later, Evan had stashed his books in his locker and headed toward the school cafeteria. On his way there, Rogue caught up to him.

"Hey, Evan," said Rogue, in her heavy southern accent. "Ah hear you and Peitro are doin' a do a project togethah."

Evan rolled his eyes. "Wow, Rogue, nothing gets by you…"

"Shut up! Ah've had a busy week…" Rogue's voice softened a bit. "So, how'd it happen?"

Evan let out a sigh and continued without the sarcasm. "Well, the day that the groups were picked, Pietro and I were both out on one of our.. Well, it was the day of the Sewer Incident."

A knowing look came over Rogue's face. "Ah... Yeah, Ah remebah that. Wasn't too fun…"

"That's an understatement. My costume still hasn't come clean… Anyway, since Peitro and I weren't in class, the teacher just assigned us to a group that was two people short."

"Ouch. So how'd the project go?"

Evan abruptly chucked. "Pretty easy, actually. The two girls in our group decided to do half of the project on their own, and leave the other half to us. …Guess they just didn't want to deal with us, or something… Anyway, Pietro got wind of the assignment before I did, so he hit the library one afternoon and finished the whole thing in ten minutes." Evan chuckled again. "So basically, that gave Pietro and I the whole week to just sit around and insult each other!"

As the couple entered the cafeteria, Rogue gave Evan a very suspicious sideways glance. Deciding the it wasn't worth commenting on, Rogue let the topic drop as she and Evan got into the lunch line.

But while Rogue's thoughts had moved on, Evan's had remained on Pietro. Or rather, Pietro's actions. Throughout the week, Pietro had always dashed out of the library as soon as class was over, muttering something flippant about having someplace else to be. And as Evan thought about, he hadn't seen Peitro in the cafeteria all week. Indeed, he rarely saw Peitro in the cafeteria at all. Or anywhere else in the school, for that matter. Evan suddenly found himself very concerned over the whereabouts of his rival.

"Hey Rogue," he finally asked, "when you were part of the 'Hood, did you and Pietro ever talk much?"

"Not really…" Replied Rogue, somewhat surprised, and bit unnerved by the question. "He joined right 'bout the time Ah was leavin'. And when Ah was there, he really didn't talk to me, much…"

"Not that its any of your business…" Startled, Evan and Rogue turned to find Lance Alvers standing in line behind them. Lance had his arms crossed, and wore a rather bemused expression on his face. "…But Pietro doesn't talk much to anyone."

Curious, Evan cocked his head slightly. "You mean he doesn't hang around with you guys?"

Lance almost burst out laughing. "Heck no! That kid runs off every chance he gets! 'Bout the only time he hangs with us is when we've got some mission." Lance smirked. "…Like mopping the sewers with you guys…"

Evan was about to retort when he noticed Todd Tolanski approaching. Todd was wearing an uncharacteristic smile, and was holding a tray laden with five wrapped burritos. "Hey, Lance," he called out as he passed. "What'cha doin' in this line? They've got burritos over at A-La Carte…"

"Huh?"

Lance stepped out of line and looked across the room. Somewhat curious, Evan and Rogue followed his gaze. What they saw was Fred Dukes--all three hundred pounds of him--standing at the front of the A-La Carte line, paying for a sizable stack of bean burritos.

This did not sit well with Lance. "Oh **GAAAWD**, Dukes! That's disgusting!" Todd just laughed. "I am NOT sitting with you people…" Glaring back and forth between Tolanski and Dukes, Lance stepped back into line. "Y'know, maybe Pietro's on to something, here…"

Rogue and Evan could only shake their heads and sigh.

-----------------------------

Late afternoon, in parking lot, near the Salem Center Mall…

"Hey, Ashley! Ashley, are you coming?"

From across the parking lot, a girl quickly stuck her head out of a crowd. "In a minute, Jean!"

Smiling to herself, Jean placed the last of her bags in the back seat of Ashley's car. It had been a good day. She had survived the week, and now, thanks to a clearance sale in a certain high-end clothing store, she had a new outfit for the weekend. A rather....flashy outfit. Jean smirked as she imagined what Scott's likely reaction would be.

'He'd probably go into conniptions. That, or he'd start drooling…' Jean chuckled at this thought. 'So, when to wear it…'

Jean's reverie was broken when Ashley returned to the car. "Hey, Jean, I just ran into Karen and a couple of her friends. They're having a bit of a get-together tonight to see the new Brad Pitt movie. Think you can join 'em?"

Jean stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Gee, lets see. Go see the new Brad Pitt with a bunch of girls, or stay at home and watch the guys throw popcorn at each other during the Godzilla marathon..." Jean dropped the sarcastic tone. "I'm there. When's it start?"

Ashley smiled. "About 45 minutes. So, do you need to check in with the Institute or something before you go?"

"Nah. They know I'll be fine."

"Wish I was that lucky..." Sighing, Ashley opened the door and got into her car. "I've got to go check in with my mom before I do anything like that. C'mon, hop in."

Jean stepped into the car with a curious expression on her face. "Uh, can't you just call your mom on her cell phone?"

As she started the engine, Ashley chuckled. "Nope. She doesn't have one. She says cell phones 'needlessly complicate life.' ...Whatever that means. She's going into the future kicking and screaming."

Jean nodded understandably. "Oh well. Its not like the movie is starting now, or anything..."

-----------------------------

Inside the gym room of PS-76 Middle School...

"You can wait here if you want. I'll be back as soon as I can find Mom..." With that, Ashley left Jean at the doorway, and began ascending the gym's bleachers.

Not in any hurry, Jean leaned against the door frame and gazed out over the gym. Her attention was first drawn to the center of the gym, where a girl's basketball game was in full swing. Beyond that, there were coaches and inactive players lining the court, with two large sets of bleachers behind them. For a moment, Jean just marveled at the spectacle.

'Hmmm....' Jean wondered at length. 'We're here because Ashley's little sister is in the game. I wonder which one she is..." Casually, Jean closed her eyes and extended her telepathic senses. With her psionic shields down, Jean 'listened' to the presences in the room. Jean wasn't looking for anyone in particular, just a personality that resembled Ashley's...

Jean focused her search on the players on the court. Ashley had mentioned that her sister was a starter, after all. After a preliminary scan, Jean had a few promising suspects. But as she prepared for a deeper scan, she felt something at the edge of her senses. Not just 'something,' but a very familiar presence. A slight scowl formed on her face and she shifted the focus of her scan to the periphery of the room.

Abruptly, Jean's eyes shot open. She stared intently at the far corner of the gym, hoping to visually verify what she had psionically sensed. And as her eyes adjusted to the distance, she got her verification. Standing next to the bleachers, half-hidden in shadows, stood Pietro Maximoff.

'But-- What would he be **doing** here? Why would Mystique send him to a Middle School basketball game?' The only explanation Jean could think of was that there was mutant in the area, and Pietro was scouting the mutant. 'But if there's a mutant, wouldn't Cerebro have...'

Jean cut off that line of thought as she noticed something about Pietro's behavior. He was yelling. No, he was cheering. As a fan. As Jean squinted her eyes, she noticed that Pietro's shirt matched the color scheme of one of the teams on the basketball court.

'So, he's here on his own... ...But, why? I never thought Pietro cared about... Anything...'

"Hey, Jean? ...Jean..." Jean suddenly noticed a hand being waved in front of her face. Jean blinked a few times, then focused her attention on Ashley. "C'mon Jean, its just a basketball game. Trust me, they're not that interesting. Now C'mon! Its time to hit the theater!" With that Ashley all but dashed out of the gymnasium.

Sparing Pietro one last glance, Jean reluctantly followed.

-----------------------------


	2. The Rebirth of Cool

Saturday

The den of the X-Mansion...

"...I know, but superheroes don't take money. Superheroes work at Burger Fool."

"Superheroes **used** to work at Burger Fool..."

"Huh?"

"I've been meaning to tell you. After you didn't come back to work the other day--"

As he heard footsteps approaching, Evan quickly changed the station to ESPN. Afterward, Evan slyly hid the remote, and continued eating his cereal, hoping that whomever was approaching hadn't been listening too closely.

Dressed casually, Jean entered the den and surveyed the scene. Popcorn, empty bowls and pop cans littered the floor. Cushions and blankets were strewn out everywhere else. Apparently the Godzilla marathon had gone as well as planned. Jean made a mental note to profusely thank Ashley for the movie. Then she spotted what she was looking for.

"Evan," she called out cordially. "Great, you're up. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

With his mouth full of food, Evan looked at Jean. 'Aw great,' he thought. 'The telepath. Maybe if I can just act **really** natural...' After swallowing, Evan responded in a casual tone. "Uh, sure Jean. What about?"

Jean bit her lip, almost apprehensibly. "...Well, about Pietro."

At the mention of his long-time rival, all previous concerns left Evan's mind. "What about him?"

"Well..." Jean trailed off, searching for the right way to word things. Abruptly, the TV went to an overly loud commercial. Jean shut off the TV with a telekinetic tap, and then resumed. "Yesterday, a friend and I stopped at PS-76 Middle School. There was a girls basketball game going on in the gym. And while I was there, I spotted Pietro."

Evan hastily shoved his cereal aside. "You serious?! You mean he was scouting someone for Mystique?!"

"That's the thing," replied Jean. "I don't think he was. First off, if there was a mutant around, Cerebro should have given us some kind of warning. Second, he didn't act like he was there following orders..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... You saying he was there voluntarily?"

"I... Think so." Jean trailed off, thinking. "Evan, does Pietro know anyone at PS-76? Would he have some kind of connection to that place?"

Evan shook his head. "No. None. In fact he always considered them our biggest rival..." A look of realization formed on Evan's face. "Waitaminute. You said there was a basketball game going on?"

"Yeah. But it was a girls game..."

"We'll worry 'bout that later," cut in Evan. "What was the other team?"

Jean rubber her forehead as she searched her memory. "I'm... I don't know. I never caught the name of the other school. ...But I think I saw the name 'Lanterns' on a banner or something..."

"The Lanterns?! The Green Lanterns?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I think the other team had a green color scheme. Why? does that mean anything to you?"

Evan responded with a faraway look in his eyes. "The Lanterns... The PS-82 Lanterns. PS-82 is a feeder school to PS-104. Its where Pietro and I went to middle school..."

"Well, that explains it," chirped Jean. "I guess Pietro was just looking in on some of his old friends."

"No. No, that doesn't explain anything..." Evan looked at Jean with a serious expression on his face. "Pietro hated '82! With a passion. He said he'd never go back there..."

"Well, obviously, he did."

For a moment, Evan sat silent, thinking. Slowly, things began falling into place. "Wait... Pietro hated '82 because he had a falling out with the basketball program. If he's forgiven the program, then... Then that's where he's probably been disappearing to!"

Jean blinked in surprise. "Disappearing to? What do you mean?"

"Well, according to some inside information, the speedster isn't too friendly with his friends in the 'Hood. He doesn't seem to have a direct problem with the team, he just doesn't get too social. Whenever he can, he goes off and hangs out by himself."

Jean chuckled. "With guys like Blob on the team, can you blame him?"

"Not really," conceded Evan. "But still... Man, if he's really back at PS-82, I'd really like to know what he's doing over there..."

"Why not find out?"

Evan regarded Jean with a condescending look on his face. "Jean, if he won't tell Alvers what he's doing, there's no way he'll tell me."

Jean responded with a smirk. "I'm not saying ask him. I'm saying we should find out for ourselves."

"You mean tail him? Dude, I really don't think the Professor would go for that. Not unless we can prove he actually doing anything wrong..."

"Who said anything about telling the Professor?" After a slight pause, Jean continued. "I mean, this isn't 'official' X-Men business here. Especially since we **don't** know if Pietro's really doing anything wrong. We don't know if he's really doing anything, period."

Another look of realization was coming over Evan's face. "So, you're saying..."

"We just tell the others that we're going out cruising. Its reasonable enough. And part true. Eventually, we end up at your old stomping grounds. And if Pietro just happens to be there..." Jean finished with a smile. "...Then its just a crazy coincidence."

After a pause, Evan began to chuckle, softly. "Jean, I never knew you had it in you..."

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	3. Fyght or Flyte

Monday

In the halls of Bayville...

"So, Evan... About that physics test next Thursday..." Liz glanced down at Evan with a sly look on her face. "Teach says its gunna be hard. Tonight I'm having a little... Study session... At my place. 'Bunch'a people are gunna be there. Ya wanna join us? We could always use another... Participant. And I think you'd be great..."

With his eyes darting nervously from side to side, Evan gave Liz a weak grin. "Well, gee, Liz, I'd love to, but..." Liz was just a Sphomore, but she had already developed quite a reputation around Bayville. As had her 'study sessions.' Very notorious reputations. Evan needed an excuse, and he needed one fast. "...But, well, I've got some... Other things to do." Excuses were never Evan's strong point.

Liz slanted her head and stuck her chin in a little pout. "Oh really..." Coyly, she batted here eyes. "So you've got something better to do? Or is some**one** better?"

"Well, uh..."

At that point, Jean appeared at the end of the hallway. "Hey Evan!" She called out with her usual smile. "You ready to go, or what?"

Evan's eyes quickly darted to the ceiling. 'Thank you!' With a smile on his face, he turned towards Liz. "Sorry, Liz. Gotta go. Talk to ya later." 

With that, Evan dashed off, leaving Liz staring in utter disbelief at the redheaded Senior standing at the end of the hall.

-----------------------------

The Bayville parking lot...

"By the way, Jean, I'd like to apologize for the rumors the underclassmen are spreading about you."

Jean looked at Evan curiously. "Huh? I haven't heard any rumors..."

Evan shrugged casually. "Well, they probably won't actually start until tomorrow. They should reach the upperclassmen by late Wednesday." Evan shrugged again. "But don't worry. Nobody'll really take them seriously..."

Jean cast a sideways glance toward Evan, than resumed her gaze straight forward. 'I don't know,' she thought to herself. 'And I really don't want to know...'

A moment later, the pair reached a familiar looking red convertible. Jean opened the door and got into the driver's seat. Instinctively, Evan hopped into the shotgun seat. It was only once Jean started the car that it struck him.

"Hey! This is Scott's car!"

"Yup." A few telekinetic taps adjusted the mirrors.

"So how'd we get it? Or is Scott coming on our little 'mission' as well?"

"Don't worry," responded Jean. "Its still just you and me. Scott brought the van. He'll take the others home in it."

Evan looked at Jean another moment, then repeated himself. "So how'd we end up with the Scottsmobille?"

Jean chuckled as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Yeah, Scott does pamper the car... Anyway, I just asked him if I could borrow it for the day. He gave me the usual spiel about taking care of it, but that was it."

"That was it?"

"Well, I do own him a favor for it..."

"Hoooaakaaayyy..." Evan rolled his eyes, teasingly. "That was more than I needed to know, Jean."

A lopsided scowl formed on Jean's face. "Keep it up, funny man, and you'll be walking to PS 82..."

"Speaking of '82," cut in Evan as he turned back to look at the street they just passed. "We just missed our turn. I thought you said you'd find out how to get there?"

"I did," replied Jean, after a sigh. "I just decided I wanted to take the scenic route and not travel through the heart of New York City. Besides, school just ended for us. The middle schools won't be ending for another hour or so."

"Oh." That hadn't occurred to Evan. Eventually his mind wandered, and he brought up the conversation's original topic. "So, if you don't owe Scott a 'favor...'"

"Watch it, buster. ...Actually, Scott just made me promise to leave him alone for a day."

"Again--waaaaaay more than I needed to--" A telekinetic whack on the back of his head silenced Evan.

"Get your mind out of the gutter and let me finish, Evan. What I meant was that Scott didn't want me scheduling anything for him on the 24th. Oh, and the car is also his, then."

"Why?" Prompted Evan. "What's on the 24th?"

Jean chuckled before responding. "Brace yourself... The annual Bayville High Car Expo. A chance for every upperclassman in Bayville to get together, drink pop, talk about cars, and argue about who's got the biggest stereo..."

"Your kidding me. That's the biggest Jock-fest this side of homecoming! And Scott wants to be there?"

"Oh, you bet. Scott's still kicking himself for not entering in last year's Expo. He figures he can rack up at least a few 'Best of' awards... Anyways, he made me promise that neither I nor anyone else would bother him that day."

Evan just shook his head for a moment. "Man, Scott willingly going to something like that. That... That's just... Man, that's just weird!"

Jean gave Evan a surprised glance. "What? That perfectly nor--oh wait, you're still new around here..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jean smiled to herself an turned her attention back to the road. "It means you just don't know Scott. He **loves **to cut loose at things like this. He's a natural show-off. He just prefers that none of us are around to see him when he does. I think he worries that would undermine his authority or something..." Jean chuckled. "He used to do things like this all the time before Kurt and Kitty showed up."

It was Evan's turn to chuckle. "'S'that so... I may just have to harass Scott about that..."

With Evan's last remark hanging in the air, the conversation came to its natural conclusion. After a moment of listening to the sounds of the road, Jean decided to start up another conversation.

"By the way, Evan, what was the deal with Pietro and the Lanterns?"

"Nothing Jean," responded Evan in a dismissive tone. "Nothing but ancient history."

"Oh." Undeterred, Jean tried the next topic that came to mind. "So you're a Static Shock fan? You ought to talk with Kurt. He's really into some of--"

"Actually, its a really interesting story," continued Evan, loudly cutting off Jean. "Y'see, back in the day, Pietro and I both went to school at PS-82 Middle School. And while there, we both played on the boys basketball team. What a shocker, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Jean casually interjected. 

"Anyway, back then, Pietro was really the star of the team. Complete natural. We used to call him the next Larry Bird."

"Who?"

Evan looked at Jean like she had just asked what color the sky was. "...Uh, he's a famous White basketball player," he finally answered.

"Oooh."

Evan shook his head and continued. "As I was saying, Pietro was genuinely the best back then. A veritable Boy Wonder. And that was **before** his mutant powers manifested themselves. ...Anyway, things were going great for him 'till he had a falling out with Coach Jordan."

Jean arched here eyebrows at this. "Michael?"

Evan smirked, relieved that Jean recognized at least that much. "I wish. The guy's first name was Hal. That should tell you something..."

"Ah, so he was a real grump, then?"

"That's an understatement. Ol' Jordan had a problem keeping his temper. Little things always seemed to just set him off. And for some reason, he was always in a bad mood. We used to joke that he was just bitter 'bout his hometown getting nuked."

"What?!"

"I said 'joke about it,'" cried Evan, defensibly. "We were middle-schoolers. That's the way we were!"

"Yeah," Jean conceded. "that age group is known for its... ...Unique brand of humor. So what'd Pietro do? Some ill placed joke?"

"I don't even remember what it was. All I know is that Pietro got benched for half the season because of it. And Pietro took it personally." Evan exhaled loudly. "Man I still remember what Pietro did when he came back. ...Pietro was set to take the face off. And he blew it off. The other guy blasted right by him, and Pietro just stood there, with his arms crossed, and that arrogant, vindictive smirk on his face."

"Whoa," commented Jean. "That's harsh."

"Yeah, but that's not the best of it. Jordan immediately stomped onto the court and started screaming at Pietro. The game was stopped dead. The whole arena was silent, just watching Jordan rant. And then Pietro..." Evan was forced to break of laughing. "In front of the whole school, Pietro told Jordan to 'suck on that,' and then he just walked out. Never even looked back."

Jean whistled in appreciation. "I'll bet that had the school talking..."

"Oh yeah. With three words, Pietro became a PS-82 legend. My last year there, somebody taped an 'x' on the center of the basketball court with a sign saying 'Pietro stood here.' I wouldn't be surprised if its still there..."

"Knowing what kids are like at that age, it wouldn't surprise me either. So whatever happened to Jordan? Did he try to get on Pietro's case afterwards?"

"Jordan wasn't around long enough to get on Pietro's case. I think the principle had been wanting to fire Jordan for a while. The 'basketball incident,' as they called it, was a great excuse to fire him. We didn't miss him. Or at least I didn't," commented Evan. "The coach of the girls team--I think his name was Stewart--finished the season, and coached the next year, but I think they got a new guy for this season..."

Jean nodded in understanding. "Ah, so you think that Pietro's going back to '84 because of the new coach. To check on the program and all that."

Evan scoffed. "No. The way that kid carries a grudge I wouldn't be surprised if he hates that program till the day he dies. No matter who's in charge of it."

Jean blinked as a confused expression came across her face. "But, Saturday, you said--"

"What?!" Interrupted Evan. "Everything I say has to be completely relevant and accurate? Cut me some slack, man. It was morning. I was speculating..."

"So then... Why is he there?"

Evan smirked, proud to get the last word in. "That my dear, Jean, is exactly what this sojourn is meant to find out!"

Jean sat in silence for a moment. "You've been planning that line, haven't you?"

"Oh yeah... Ever since English class..."

-----------------------------

On the bleachers behind PS-82...

"Okay..." Leaning back into the sun, Crisse Tile closed her eyes in concentration. "Washington DC got sacked in 1814, as part of the War of 1812... The White House was set on fire by... ...British troops under the command of General... Clinton? No, no. He was Revolutionary War. ...Um... Okay, Pete, I give up. Who led that attack?" Not hearing an answer, Crisse opened her eyes. "Pete?"

Sitting a short distance away, Danielle Char raised a finger to her lips. "Shhhh." She whispered playfully. "His Silver-Sense is tingling..."

Brushing her blond hair out of her face, Crisse pushed herself back up and glanced at Pietro. He was sitting several bleachers above her, perched precariously on the guardrails at the top of the bleachers. Crisse immediately noticed that his face was devoid of its usual smirk. Instead, his mouth was half open, and his head was cocked the side, as if he were listening for something.

Grinning, Danielle looked at Pietro through the brown mess of hair she let hang in front of her face. "So what is it, Pietro? Trouble with some after school sports? Bank robbery? Some yellow psycho with a magic ring coming to take vengeance upon us all?"

Pietro came out of his reverie with a chuckle. "'Unuscione, I'd worry more about an orange psycho with claws... No, I just thought I head someone. Must have imagined it, though."

Forgetting about the history test she was studying for, Crisse sighed. "Ya know, Pete, you still haven't told us what 'Unuscione' is supposed to mean..."

"Who cares." Commented Danielle. "It sounds cool."

"It sounds messed up," retorted Crisse. Danielle's response was to lean slightly forward and smile. "So I guess it suits you fine, huh?"

Danielle laughed. "Don't it though..."

"Okay girls, break it up," chided Pietro. "'Scione, you're starting to scare me. Don't do that. I get enough of that at home..." Pietro shook his head to get his thoughts back on track. "So what were you saying, Scanner?"

"Something about her and Clinton, in the White House," said Danielle as she went back to her sketchbook.

Pietro sighed. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that..."

"Pietro, do we have to do this?" Whined Crisse. "I've been going over this stuff since last Wednesday. Can't we take the day off?"

Once again, Pietro sighed in annoyance. "No, Scanner. We've been over this. You **need** this test if you want any hope of passing this class. And I **need** you to pass this class!" Pietro exhaled loudly. "Unlike Mystique and Xavier, I don't have much clout around here. It took all I had just to convince 'Scoine's parents to let you live with them."

"I know, I know..." Crisse had heard this speech more times than she cared to mention.

"Remember, they let you stay on the condition that you stay clean. That means you stay on your best behavior, and you keep up your grades." Pietro paused for emphasis. "You need to keep your grades up on your own. I can't bail you out if you screw up..."

Still sketching, Danielle piped up. "Aw, don't worry too much, Crisse. I doubt my parents would throw you out now. They've gotten too used to having a normal kid around the house." Danielle finished her comment by flashing her trademarked unhinged smile.

Pietro looked down at his young charge, and shook his head. "I'm too young for this..."

"C'mon, Pete, she's right. I don't need this test **that **badly. I can afford to take the day off."

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Okay… Just don't complain to me if you don't do well..."

"Hey Pete," said Crisse, quickly redirecting the conversation. "You gunna make our next game? Its tomorrow, here. Coach says neither of us are starting, but we should still see some court time." Crisse finished her statement by tossing her books to the side. With a new gleam in here eyes, she looked up at Pietro. "So, can you be there?"

Pietro stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Tomorrow night... I doubt it. I'll probably be busy then..."

Crisse looked slightly hurt. "Busy with what?"

"A thing..."

"A 'Brotherhood thing,' a 'Magnus thing,'" Danielle asked, without looking up. "Or a 'thing thing?'"

"A 'thing thing.'"

"Ah, I see. Another night hunting for Ninja Turtles, eh?" Danielle looked up with a mocking grin.

Pietro's face suddenly turned serious. "Laugh all you want, 'Scione, but I'm serious. Xavier wouldn't have sent out his boys if there wasn't really something down there. There **was** someone in those sewers..." A half smirk formed on Pietro's face. "I can't vouch for it being turtle, or ninja, but it was definitely mutant. And from the one look I got, it looked teenage..."

Crisse grimaced in disgust. "Great, Pete. I really hope you don't plan on having us room with a kid who lives in the sewers..."

"Not us," quipped Danielle. "Just you. It is **my** house, after all..."

"Your **parents**' house!" Clarified Crisse.

"Which makes it mine!" Retorted Danielle.

"Girls..." Pietro was rubbing the bridge of his nose, dreading the almost inevitable argument. "Can we change the subject... Please?"

"Okay. Ice cream!"

Still holding his nose, Pietro opened one eye and glared down at Crisse. "What?"

"Ice cream," Crisse repeated. "Ice cream would change the subject!"

"Yeah!" Chimed Danielle.

Pietro held his pose for a moment, just staring at his two wards.

Acting in unison, they looked up at Pietro and smiled. "Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaase?"

Stoic as he was, Pietro could only handle so much forced sweetness. Shaking his head, he gave in. "Okay. If ice cream will prevent a headache, ice cream it is. What'll you have?"

"Vanilla cone," Danielle eagerly replied, once again wearing her unhinged smile. "Dipped in blooooood...."

"Cherry dip it is," responded Pietro, rubbing his nose again. "And Scanner?"

"Ooh... Ah..." Crisse hadn't really expected her request to work, and didn't have an answer readily available. "Errr.. How 'bout a grape slush?"

"A slush," Pietro mumbled to himself. "She says ice cream, then wants a slush... Okay, fine. I'll be back in a minute or so. Try not to tear down the school in the meantime."

With that, Pietro hopped down from his perch. He landed softly, then left the school grounds in a blur.

-----------------------------

Near the bleachers of PS-82...

With Evan near her, Jean was crouched down in a recessed doorway. She had her eyes closed, and hands on her head, trying to scan the area. "Okay... I can sense a few stragglers in the halls, and parking lot... A large group in the gym... Thr--no, two people in the track area..."

"That'd be our target," cut in Evan.

"Huh?" Jean blinked a few times as she cut her scan short. "How--what makes you so sure? I didn't sense Pietro there..."

With a Pietro-like smirk on his face, Evan pointed over his shoulder, at a string of dust-devils and disturbed litter leading away from the field. "Call it a hunch."

"Well that would explain the glitch," Jean mumbled to herself. "So Pietro was talking to the two on the track. At least that's our best guess. Do we still want to check it out further?"

"You bet," replied Evan. "First, we don't know if he was actually talking to those two. And second, if he was, we don't know why, or why they seem to be so important."

Jean chuckled at this. "Wellllllll... They were both girls. There's a good chance that that's all the explanation there is."

Evan instantly had his mouth open to respond, but checked himself before he said anything. After a moment's pause, he opened his mouth again. "Ahhh, no. At this point, I think its safe to rule out the girlfriend scenario. While two girls would definitely be Pietro's style, I don't think he'd be looking for girls at a middle school. I don't think Pietro would even consider any girl who wasn't up to the standards of someone... Say.... You."

"Thanks," interjected Jean, taking the compliment for what it was worth.

"So unless the girls turn out to be total hotties, there's probably another reason. And if they are hotties, I wanna know what they're doing with Pietro." This brought a vindictive smirk to Evan's face. "In any case, its worth checking out. Lets go."

Evan was just about to turn around, when said hotty ran straight into him.

-----------------------------

Back at the bleachers…

As she idly scanned her notes, Crisse's head suddenly shot up. "Uh-oh." She looked at Danielle with a worried look on her face. "I left my Spanish book in my locker. I need that tonight…"

Danielle looked up sympathetically. "Ooh, yeah. You have some kind of speech to give tomorrow, don't you. You'd better go back and get it. And quick. They lock up the school any minute now..."

Crisse grumbled as she hurried down the bleachers. "Not, again… Ya know, I shouldn't have to care about this. I mean, Pietro knows I'm forgetful. He knows I leave stuff at school. And **he** can use his powers without worrying about getting noticed... And he can get into the school without even trying. It'd be a cinch for him to get it." At the base of the bleachers, Crisse paused and gave one last exasperated look up at Danielle. "So why'd he make such a fuss when I asked him to get a book out of my locker last week?" 

Danielle shrugged. "Dunno. I asked him about that, and all he said was that it would have 'brought back bad memories.' Whatever that means…" Danielle shrugged again, and then went back to her sketching.

"Man, Pietro is just plain weird, sometimes." With that, Crisse sprinted towards the nearest entry. With her thoughts on the quickest way to get to her locker, Crisse didn't even see the two kids standing in front of the entrance. Having only barely slowed down to turn a corner, Crisse ran into one of the students at nearly full speed. Crisse tumbled backwards, while the other student was knocked into the wall.

Crisse was still getting regaining her senses when the other kid steadied himself and reached down to help her up. "Hey, man? You okay there? That was **not** a good way to take a fall…"

Crisse took the kid's hand, and pulled herself up to a sitting position. At that point, her vision cleared, and she got a clear look at who she had run into. He was black kid, somewhat gangly, with bleach-blond hair. Though he was rubbing the back of his neck, he didn't look too shaken up by the whole affair. Beyond him was a tall redhead looking on with concern. Though she had never seen either of the kids before, Crisse immediately recognized both of them.

"X-Men," she uttered, barely above a whisper. "Oh, no… They've found us…" With a terrified look on her face, Crisse drew back from Evan.

"Whoa, hold up," cut in Evan, somewhat confused. "How do you kn--"

Crisse's mind was racing frantically. Pietro had always warned her that something like this might happen. That their cover might somehow be blown. He had told her what to do in such situations. He had gone over their 'contingency plan' seemingly hundreds of times. And yet, with the situation unfolding right in front of her, Crisse--Scanner--couldn't remember one word of them. All she could do… Was panic.

Turning her back on Evan, Scanner sprinted back to the bleachers. "'Scione!" She called out, "Unuscione! They--they've found us!"

"This was not part of our plans," muttered Jean, as she glanced about, making sure nobody else noticed the outburst. Once she was satisfied they were safe, she ran after the girl.

Evan, though momentarily taken aback, was quicker to regain his wits. "Okay, now I **really** want to know what's going on here!" With that, he sprinted after the fleeing girl, quickly gaining ground on her. "Heh! Wait up! We're just trying to… Would you… Hey!"

Realizing the girl wasn't listening, Evan put on a burst of speed and caught up to her. He grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her to a stop. Still keeping a firm grip on her wrist, Even pulled the girl around to face him. "Look, calm down. We're not here to hurt you. We just want to--Huh?!"

Caught in Evan's grip, Scanner realized she had no other choice. Ignoring what Evan was trying to say, she closed her eyes in concentration. After a few seconds of effort, her power activated, and her entire body became translucent. As it did, a slight shock jolted Evan's arm, and his grip suddenly tightened around nothing. A slight smile crept onto Scanner's face as she pulled away from her stunned pursuer.

"So he was scouting mutants…" Muttered Evan as he rubbed his wrist. "Guess this really is X-Men business."

A shout from above returned his attention to events at hand.

"Die, Spykie!" Spyke's head shot up, and he saw a brown haired girl standing in the scaffolding near the top of the bleachers. The girl leapt off, with a slight glow forming around her body. The girl had her arms out in front of her, clenched fists pointing to the sky. Her muscled seemed flexed, but Spyke couldn't tell why.

Fortunately, Jean did. Stopping her run, Jean shut her eyes and created a psionic bubble around Spyke. As the shield came up, Spyke noticed movement above him. He looked up, just in time to see a giant glowing cylinder smash onto Jean's shield. Spyke covered his head instinctively, and a bang resounded through the area. Nonetheless, Jean's shield held.

"Whoa," muttered Spyke as the cylinder faded away. "Thanks Jean…" Before he could say anything more Spyke's attention was brought back to the girl he had originally chased.

Growling, Scanner ran towards Spyke. With an electronic cackle, she passed through Jean's shield. Spyke saw this, and his mouth opened in shock. A second later, a very opaque, and very solid fist connected with his jaw. The blow knocked Spyke back into the side of the shield, but otherwise only stunned him. Growling himself, Spyke picked himself up and glared at Scanner.

"Big mistake, girl…" Scowling, Scanner went immaterial again and stepped back outside the psionic bubble. However, as she did, the bubble faded away. As Scanner saw this, her expression went from determined to shocked. She gulped, then looked back at Spyke, who had grown a series of bones from his forearms. "Big… Mistake…"

A short distance away, Unuscione stood up, staring balefully at Jean. "So, I'm up against Xavier's Teke. How appropriate…"

With a last sideways glance to make sure Spyke was okay, Jean turned her full attention to the mutant in front of her. "Look," she tried to reason, "we aren't here to fight. We just came to--"

"To what?!" Unuscione demanded, pushing her hair from her face. "To make sure nobody can live their lives without you knowing? To make sure Xavier's influence is everywhere?"

"What? No!" Jean responded, incredulously.

"Bull!" Unuscione thrust her arms forward, and three glowing spheres formed just beyond her reach. With a yell, she sent the three spheres hurling towards Jean.

As she took an apprehensive step backward, Jean's powers flared. Jean winced, and two of the spheres veered past her. With the last sphere still coming towards her, Jean thrust out her own hand. The sphere came to an abrupt halt just beyond arm's length. Jean gritted her teeth, and powered up even further. With a grunt of exertion, Jean crushed and dissipated the offending sphere.

Jean breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Unuscione. Unuscione looked winded, but still had a determined look on her face. Almost too late, Jean realized that Unuscione wasn't looking at her. Jean whirled around, and threw up a psionic shield. She allowed herself a small grin of satisfaction as the two surviving spheres struck the shield, and were knocked away.

However, they had not fallen far before Unuscione reasserted her control over them. As the two spheres hovered in front of Jean, two more formed in back of her. Jean whirled around again, striking the new spheres before they could advance. Still keeping her guard up, Jean glanced at her opponent, and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

Meanwhile, the tide had turned against Scanner. In order to mount any type of offense, she had to stay solid. However, Spyke was had her outclassed in every respect. He was faster than her, stronger than her, and just knew more about fighting than her. Harried and exhausted, Scanner made one last lunge at Spyke. He dodged it, and Scanner hit the ground hard. Before she could get up, Spyke turned her over and jabbed her in the stomach. Spyke then picked her up, and shoved her against a nearby bleacher support, holding her there.

"Okay," began a somewhat winded Spyke. "We could have done this the easy way, but you chose to make this difficult. Now, before I get angry, what's going on here?! Who are you, and what--"

Suddenly, Spyke was interrupted by a high pitched scream. Before he could turn around to see what happened, something hit Spyke in the small of his back. His vision went red, and he lost his grip on Scanner. Before he could even register what happened, he found himself face-down in the dirt.

Deliberately, and angrily, Evan pushed himself back up. As he did, something in the back of his mind identified the earlier scream as Jean's. Supporting himself with his left hand, Evan used his free arm to wipe whatever it was off his face. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Evan examined his arm. "Ice cream?"

"Don't even **think** about getting up, Daniels. I'll knock you back down before you even exhale!"

A scowl formed on Evan's face, and he slowly lifted his head to face the speaker. Ten feet away from him stood a glowering Pietro Maximoff. Beyond Pietro were an unnerved Crisse, and an angry Danielle. While the two girls stood mostly upright, Pietro was in a full fledged battle-crouch. Belatedly, Evan noticed Jean standing near him. Jean had a shocked look on her face, and purple liquid dripping down her face and splattered on her shirt. 

"Pietro," Jean managed to get out, "what did you just--"

"You're in a **fine** position to ask questions, Jean!" Pietro angrily yelled. "**You** tell **me** what the **heck** you're doing here, and just how you get off beating up my kids!"

As ice cream began dripping down his face, Evan ignored Pietro's warning, and pushed himself to his feet. "Your 'kids?' Just how stupid do think we are Pietro?"

"As stupid as you look, Daniels. Now tell me why you two were beating up on a couple of middle-school girls!"

"Because they panicked," said Jean, trying to take some measure of control of the situation. "They saw us, and for some reason assumed we were here to get them. So they attacked us. And we fought back. So now you tell us Pietro, who are those two? And what--"

Instead of Pietro, is was Danielle who responded. "We're right here, X-Man! You don't need to talk about us like we can't hear you. And it wasn't us who threw the first punch."

"Yeah it was!" Cut in Evan. "Heck, you were the one who--"

"Shut it, Daniels! I don't want to hear it!" Pietro took a second to calm himself, though his expression didn't change. "Alright, one at a time. Why were you here? Did Xavier send you?"

"No," responded Jean. "We came here on our own."

"Why? And were are the rest of you?"

"Its just us. And we came because of you." Jean paused upon seeing Pietro's haughty expression. "Evan noticed you seemed… Preoccupied. I saw you at a basketball game you had no business being at. It seemed out of character. So we investigated. That brought us here…"

"Basketball game?" Whispered Crisse. "That means they saw you… Its… Its our fault…"

"Hush, Scanner," Pietro whispered back. Turning his eyes back to Jean, he continued. "So, you're saying Xavier doesn't know about this. That… That that 'Cerebro' thing of his never picked up my girls…"

"Nope," quipped Evan, with a bit of pride in his voice. "This was all us."

To Evan's surprise, Pietro closed his eyes, and seemed to chuckle at this. "So that's it. Of all the ways our cover could have been blown, after enforcing all those 'no power' rules, we get caught because I got sloppy and got myself tailed." Pietro looked back up. "That's almost funny…"

Jean raised an eyebrow. "'Funny?' Think Mystique will find it that way?"

"Oh, Jean… Mystique would find this **an-y-thing** but funny…" Jean had expected the mention of Mystique to make Pietro serious. Maybe even to scare him. It did neither. For some reason, Jean found that disconcerting.

"Wait a minute…" Began Evan, a look of realization on his face. "Are you saying that--"

"Is that was you two thought?" Interrupted Pietro. "That this was some secret training ground for Mystique? Oh, that's just too much…"

"Wha… So… So if those two aren't Mystique's mutants," demanded Jean, "then whose are they?!"

"So much for being one of the 'gifted,'" muttered Danielle.

"Why, **mine**, of course," responded Pietro, in his most patronizing of tones. "These are **my** mutants. **My** team. My **Acolytes**!"

For the first time since Pietro arrived, Evan addressed the two girls behind him? "He… Is he serious? You two are taking orders… From **him**?"

Danielle responded wearing her unhinged smile. "Oh, you bet, Daniels. You bet…"

"But Pietro," stammered Jean. "Why?"

"'Cause it's a challenge," laughed Pietro.

"No, Pietro, breaking into lockers is a 'challenge.' This… Starting your own team…" Evan trailed off, not able to come up with any more words. "…Why?"

This brought a new expression to Pietro's face. An expression full of pride, and earnestness. It was a mixture Evan had never seen Pietro use before. "Because, Daniels, I have a destiny. I will be my own man. Avalanche, Blob, and all you X-Geeks, you're all just pawns. Just pieces in the greater game of life…"

"We're not--" began Jean.

"Think about it, Jean. When was the last time you did something on your own? Something important. Something that could change the course of your life." Pietro looked at the expression on Jean's face. "Its been a while, hasn't it? But you know what the worst part of it is? You don't even know the full extent of what you've gotten yourself into…"

"Yeah, we do," interrupted Evan. "Its Xavier on one side, and Mystique on the other. Simple as that!"

Pietro just shook his head. "That's why I'm the one with a destiny, Daniels. I'm the only one here who knows just how deep he's buried. I'm the only one that knows there is no turning back…" Pietro looked up, a determined gleam shining in his eye. "But one of these days, I will turn back. I will dig myself out of this hole. I won't live my whole life as one of Mystique's lackeys. As anyone's lackey. And the reason I'll be able to get out, is because I'll have my Acolytes behind me. I'll have followers, soldiers to back me up. I will be a force to reckoned with." Pietro stared at the two X-Men, and for a moment seemed to stare past them. "And I'll be able to make up for past mistakes…"

Evan and Jean exchanged worried looks. With a sigh, Jean tried to bring Pietro's attention back to the present. "So that's why, but… How, Pietro? How did you slip two mutants by Cerebro? How did you slip them past Mystique?"

Evan eyed the two girls behind Pietro. "How can you be sure they're loyal to you?"

"We **are** loyal," replied Danielle in a guttural tone.

"Why?"

"'Cause he told us everything," was Danielle's response. "Because he told us exactly what we were getting into, before we joined. He told us who else was out there, and what they were really like. He told us of the war zone were stepping into. So we chose him. And we'll stick by him…"

"And because I went after them," continued Pietro. "No matter which side of the tracks they were from. Unlike you guys, I set my sights on recruiting **all** available mutants. Unlike you," Pietro looked directly at Jean, "I didn't single out the cute little girl, then leave the troubled kid out to dry..."

Jean fumed at that. "**Pietro**, that wasn't how it was at--"

"As for how," continued Pietro, an arrogant smile creeping across his face, "you'd be surprised. Cerebro isn't as foolproof as Mystique believes. If it were, there'd be a lot more than six mutants at Xavier's little institute. I find my mutants the old fashioned way, by looking. Its slow, its inefficient, and I waste a lot of time following bad leads. But it works, nonetheless."

"And Mystique really has no clue you're doing this?" Asked Jean.

"None," confirmed Pietro.

"How? How could you keep something this big from being noticed?"

"Because its **not** big," cut in Pietro. "There is no tangible infrastructure behind this team. No Mansion, no danger room, no jet, no nothing. Just a few determined individuals, giving it all they've got."

"And… And you can really keep a team like that?" Asked a stunned Jean.

"Yeah, Jean, I can. 'Cause I'm just that good…" Pietro gave the X-Men a searching look as he straightened his posture. "Well, Daniels, that's it. That's all there is to know here. I guess I really can't stop you from telling Xavier about this… Heck, he's probably already noticed this power outburst..." Pietro's eyes narrowed. "But if my girls start getting harassed, or if Mystique hears even a **word** of this… I will find a way to make your lives miserable. That's a promise."

Evan regarded Pietro for a moment then walked away, disgusted. "Sure Pietro. Whatever…"

Jean watched Evan leave, then turned back to Pietro with an uneasy expression on her face.

"Yeah?"

"You… You said that we're all in over our heads… That you were the only one who knew how deep we really are," began Jean, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to her question. "How **do** you know how deep we're buried?"

"Because, Jean," Pietro answered with a sad look in his eyes. "I'm buried deepest of all…" Pietro lowered his head, breaking eye contact. "Come on, girls. We've got things to do…"

-----------------------------


	4. Shadows of the Past

Tuesday

Tuesday evening, outside the X-Mansion…

Jean caught up with Evan as he was wandering around the mansion's perimeter. "Hey, Evan! Wait up…"

Evan paused and looked back, a morose expression on his face. "Hey Jean…"

"Sorry 'bout being late today," mumbled Jean as she slowed to a walk. "The soccer meeting went late. So… You say anything to the Professor yet?"

Evan stuffed his hands in his pockets and shook his head. "Nah… Apparently, Cerebro **did** miss yesterday's fight. Don't know how but... The Professor hasn't said anything, so neither have I..." Dejected, Evan continued walking. "'Sides, what **would** I tell him, Jean? 'Oh, by the way Professor, remember my old friend Quicksilver? Yeah, he's got his own team of mutants who he's been training in secret. Oh, but if we do anything about it, he'll do something like steal Scott's glasses in the middle of homeroom.' Yeah, I'll look real smart like that…"

Turning around, Evan sighed loudly. "I don't know Jean. This whole thing is just nuts. I mean, I thought I knew Pietro. He seemed so simple. Just a straight-up adrenaline junkie and egotist. But… To know he has his own **team** behind him? That he feels the need to even **have** a team behind him… I don't know…" Evan tore his gaze away from Jean and looked up at the sky. "It was hard enough getting over the fact that Mystique is after us. I mean to the point where she wouldn't mind seeing us dead… That we've got Pietro, waiting in the wings with a whole new team out for blood… I'm not sure I'm ready for a life like that…"

"To be honest, I don't think I am either," agreed Jean. "But… I'm not sure its quite like that."

"Yeah?" Asked Evan, not convinced. "So what is it like?"

"Well, call it telepath's intuition, but I don't think Pietro's team is meant to go against us. Its just… I just wasn't picking up that kind of animosity from him?"

"I think you're putting too much faith in your powers Jean," responded Evan with a touch of bitterness. "Believe me, Pietro's got plenty of animosity towards us."

"I'm not saying he doesn't. I'm just saying that yesterday, when he was with his girls, there was just… Something, or maybe, someone else on his mind."

Evan gave Jean a long look, the incredulous expression never leaving his face. "I don't know Jean. I just don't know…" With that, Evan turned his back and continued walking away.

"Neither do I," mumbled Jean. As she watched Evan walk away, she shook her head and turned the other way. "Pietro," she mumbled to herself, "I don't know why you seem so afraid, but I… Really do hope you dig yourself out… Somehow…"

-----------------------------

New York City, seven hundred feet below the surface…

"Whoa…" Awestruck, Pietro shined his flashlight across the cavern he found himself standing in. It had been over fifteen minutes since Pietro had left the familiarity to the NYC sewer grid. Since then, he had been traveling down unmarked, seemingly hand-carved caves. The caves had gotten progressively more primitive, and Pietro had expected them to end at any moment. However, instead of simply ending, the caves led him to a gate. The gate had stuck Pietro as unnaturally clean and well maintained. After jimmying open the gate, Pietro found himself in an open cavern, well over twice the size of a school auditorium. "This could take longer than I thought…"

Heaving a sigh, Pietro trudged over to the side of the cavern and leaned against the wall. He needed to rethink his plan.

"Man, I shouldn't even be here right now," he muttered to himself. "I've got enough to do as it is." Pietro sighed again as he mentally listed all the things he needed to get done. In addition to keeping up appearances with Mystique and the Brotherhood, he still had to call Projector, and figure out a way to get him from his home in Colorado to the Bayville area. He had to find some way to verify the reports he's heard about the Klienstock family. As well as the rumors about that farm boy in the Ukraine. And, Pietro reminded himself, he still needed to find the whereabouts of Angelo Unuscione, and to make sure Angelo could never find out about his daughter, or her subsequent adoption. Pietro exhaled loudly. "Man, I **really** shouldn't be here…."

Still, with the exception of talking to Projector, all of Pietro's other tasks were nothing but paperwork. Looking through endless reports and news clippings, investigating records, translating documents, etc. All of which was mind numbingly boring, none of which would produce any immediate results.

Just the thought of all that paperwork made Pietro tired. So instead of putting himself through all that hassle, Pietro had opted to spend the night poking the sewers beneath New York City, searching for some trace of the mutant he had spotted during the Brotherhood's altercation with the X-Men a week previous. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it was a lead. The most tangible lead Pietro had at the moment…

And still, even it wasn't producing many results. Pietro had been searching for hours, and all he had found was the promise of even more searching ahead of him. Sighing, Pietro closed his eyes for a moment of rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he had so many times before, Pietro found himself hiding behind what remained of the town well. All around him, his town burned, most of its citizens having already fled. As the cut on his hand stopped bleeding, Pietro cautiously stepped away from his shelter. With tears in his eyes, he looked to Mount Wundagore. Cold, uncaring, it stood like a citadel beyond the flames. The people of the town always said that Wundagore, and its guardians, would protect them from harm.

Standing alone in the night, Pietro realized just how wrong they were.

Suddenly, the sound of a footfall grabbed Pietro's attention. Whirling, Pietro faced the approacher. Silhouetted by the fire, it stood nearly seven feet tall. It had the body of a man, and the head of a ram. In one hand, it held a sword. In the other, the scared, shivering body of Wanda Maximoff.

Then, in a voice that seemed to echo through the inferno, it spoke. "Fear not, child, for you are simply returning home. In Wundagore were you born, in Wundagore shall you be raised. And when the growing power inside you matures, in Wundagore shall you serve…"

Pietro found himself rooted to the ground, paralyzed by fear. Until the voice of his sister floated through the air.

"Pi… Pietro?"

"Yes, child," reassured the creature, "there is power in your brother as well. He too shall join you in Wundagore."

For the young Pietro, fear gave way to panic. With his adrenaline pumping, and heedless of any danger, Pietro sprinted away from the sight. Suddenly, the adrenaline became something more, and the world turned to a blur…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a gasp, Pietro awoke back in the cavern.

"Dang it," he muttered, trying to shake off the last vestiges of the all too familiar dream. "Should'a know better… Alone in a dark cavern halfway to the center of the Earth… Its the perfect spot for a nightmare." 

Sighing, Pietro picked up his flashlight, making sure the batteries hadn't died down. After clicking the light on and off a few times, Pietro sighed again and leaned back against the wall. Lying to himself had never been one of Pietro's strong points. Others, yes. But himself… Reluctantly closing his eyes, he let the rest of the memory play itself out.

As he always did, he saw himself finally coming to a stop on the shores of the Baltic sea. Half a continent away from Mount Wundagore. He saw himself collapse, physically exhausted, and emotionally unwilling to go on. Once again, the world became a blur, this time whizzing by as Pietro himself sat and waited to die.

Then with uncanny clarity, he saw Magneto. He watched as Magneto approached, and told him how he had been drawn by the awakening of Pietro's 'mutant powers.' He listened as Magneto explained the world to him, and offered him a new life. A life free from pain and the constraints of his past. A life half a world away. A life in the heart of civilization, in New York City.

The memory ended in excruciating slowness, as Pietro watched himself weakly extend his hand, and accept.

The vision over, Pietro opened his eyes and lifted his head. The memory, as it always did, left Pietro's face a hardened mask of anger, grief, and determination. In his shame, he had never told Magneto about his sister. About how he abandoned her in the shadow of Wundagore. He never told anyone…

But he never forgot.

"You're right, Demon," Pietro growled. "I will come back to Wundagore. But I won't come alone. And when I do come… So help me… I'LL TEAR YOUR MOUNTAIN APART!!!"

As his threat echoed across the empty cavern, Pietro picked up his flashlight and resumed his search.

"Don't worry Wanda… I will be back for you. …Someday… I'll be back for you…"

…End…

-----------------------------

Disclaimer

Jean Grey, Evan Daniels, Pietro Maximoff, and all related X-Men: Evolution names and references are copyright Marvel Comics. Wanda Maximoff, the Acolytes, Mount Wandagore, the Morlock tunnels, and all related references are also copyright Marvel Comics, though they have been modified to fit in the confines of Evolution. The story itself is a non-profit work of fanfiction, and is not meant to infringe upon any of said copyrights.


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